Still runs the consumer finance company, Aiful, that he began more than 40 years ago when he was just a teenager. His business acumen has lately been put to the test as a government crackdown on lending, sparked by allegations of heavy-handed debt collection, has halved maximum interest rates to 20%. In 2007 profits at Fukuda's company and other consumer finance lenders were further crimped by a court ruling that forced them to repay customers they had overcharged.